Expect a lot more updates than the blog -_-

http://twitter.com/falloutbek

For those of you who managed to escape the mess Malaysia has made of it’s education system and are lucky enough not to know what Pendidikan Moral is about, Pendidikan Moral is a subject that will supposedly transform all Malaysian students into excellent citizens.

How?

By forcing us to memorize, word for word, 36 nilais (values. I will bother to translate so that EVERYONE MAY UNDERSTAND MY RANTING) and their definitions.
For example, the first (and only) nilai i bothered to memorize:
1.1 Kepercayaan Kepada Tuhan (Belief in God)
Keyakinan wujudnya Tuhan sebagai pencipta alam dan mematuhi segala suruhanNya berdasarkan pegangan agama masing-masing selaras dengan prinsip Rukun Negara. (The confidence [?] that God exists and is the creator of the universe and to believe all His callings based on the beliefs of one’s own religions in accordance with the National Principles [?])

In order to get an A for P.Moral, a student must memorize all 36 values, their definitions, keywords and applications. Each situation presented in the question paper is bound by a specific set of nilais to be used and nothing else, no matter how logical it may seem.

Question:
Based on values, how would you demonstrate your patriotism for the country?

Logically, someone would say something along the lines of ‘By impaling my Kancil with flags during August, behaving appropriately in public, telling foreigners how awesome Malaysia is, and supporting our government’s choices, such as choosing to make P.Moral a compulsory subject and to change the teaching of science and math back to Bahasa Melayu instead of English (i will not get started on this today -_-)’… Though that last one might be stretching it.

Chances are this would be WRONG.
SPM P.Moral has a freakishly strict marking scheme…
We must firstly choose the RIGHT nilai, write out the memorized key words from these almost identical nilais, and elaborate. If our answer, regardless of how logical and acceptable it is, falls under the wrong nilai, for example, me writing that we must have kasih sayang (caring-ness) in order to achieve interracial harmony, and the answer was toleransi (tolerance), I wouldn’t get marks for that question.
It is madness.

What is a marking scheme to say that my way of being a good citizen is wrong?
What is the point in deciding which good deed falls under what value?
What do we benefit from 5 years of rote memorization (that we will almost immediately forget as soon as SPM ends) for an A that stands for nothing?

Firstly, a student writing a crap answer on the paper does not mean he will practice it in real life. This paper doesn’t prove anything as to how moralized (is that a word?) a student is. Many people who have gotten A’s for this subject are completely anti-government (presumably they are so anti-government for being forced to memorize 36 nilais) and many who have never done a thing they have written down in these exams.
Vice versa, failing moral doesn’t make you any less moralized. Mother Teresa would have failed our moral paper spectacularly.

Secondly, we honestly learn nothing from P.Moral. 36 nilais later and we know nothing more about unprotected sex, gun violence or drug abuse; all things I presume would be worth learning in order to be a better person. I suppose these vital social issues are simply too racy for us to learn about. We learn nothing practical or applicable to our lives. Our books are uninteresting, filled with “we already knew this” passages and texts that sound suspiciously like government propaganda.

Sample of supposed government propaganda:
(translated from actual Form 5 Moral text book)

A dialog between students at university…

Susianti: We must be grateful for having received this opportunity to attend this international student exchange program. The effort put in by the university in this region to create good ties (?) among students has been well received by everybody.

Johar: That is true, friend. (I laughed as I typed that. WHO THE HELL SAYS THAT AHAHAHA) This effort represents a branch or co-operation that exists between countries in this region. The height (?) of leadership in our country, Malaysia, are always creating a good relationship with other countries in order to give birth to co-operation that is close (-_-) in social, economic, and educational aspects, among others.

Vostov (Vostov speaking Malay, MY FOOT): Malaysia has also been co-operative in the field of education with other countries. We are happy that Malaysia has accepted the offer to study at institutes of higher education in my country, Russia, in the fields of medicine, English, and Russian. We are impressed with the openness shown by the leaders of your country, Johar.

INSULT TO YOUR INTELLIGENCE OR WHAT???

P.Moral must either be abolished or seriously revised (though I think any attempt at teaching students how to be a good person through a text book is effort wasted). Stop wasting my time, memory and life -_-

I hope my mother understands why I don’t take Moral seriously.

Yes, I have just failed my Mock exam P.Moral paper. Sorry for being so aggro -_-

XD

How many people do you know with heart shaped nostrils? Wendy is the coolest.

Probably gonna delete this post in a bit.
I’ve been in a daydreamy mood lately.

On the 22nd of this month (Friday evening), Lodge’s Interact is holding an Interact movie night for Monsters Vs Aliens to raise money for disadvantaged kids of Lundu. Tickets are RM 20 for the side & middle bottom seats, RM 30 for the dead center seats. May sound a bit steep, but its FOR A GOOD CAUSE for people with less than what we have. And I need people to teman me =_=

Anyway, if you’d like to go, leave me a comment here, or text me if you already know my number.

SUPPORT!

Plus it looks super cute heheh

2.

I want a pug, but NUUUU my family "needs a guard dog and not another rat running around"

I’m looking to adopt a puppy, no breed preference. If anyone knows someone who wants to give away a puppy, leave a comment please. Willing to pay.

CRITERIA FOR PUPPY.

• HEALTHY. Not healthy, no deal. NO MANGE, I can’t stand to see dogs with mange. I feel so sorry for them but I can’t bring myself to touch them =_= I’m so prissy.
• Must be an affectionate, manja-type dog. Best if lazy.
• Preferably a black puppy. Next best thing would be a white puppy. But I’m not picky about the colour, so anything will do. Best if it has a short coat.
• Would like a big dog, so if the puppy has the genes to grow up big, that would be great. But, again, not picky.

3.

I am selling off my May copy of Seventeen and Cleo, RM 5 each. Slightly bent but still in good condition. Cleo still has the free sample things in it (except for the free coffee thing, which I drank). Also selling off March/April’s PC Photo magazine for RM 10, which is damn cheap cos it cost me RM 25. Yes, I am this broke =_=

Leave a comment regarding puppy / magazines if you’re interested.

Today i was bored.

THEN I DISCOVERED I COULD DO ARCHES OMG.

OMG I AM SO PLEASED WITH MYSELF

:D

I know probably everyone can do arches but SHUT UP okay I’ve never been able to do them before.
I like my outfit . I was hoping my pictures would turn out a lot nicer so I could try submit them to lookbook (=_=) but it was HELL trying to find a place to put my camera, set the self timer, get in position and try to look good in ten seconds.

HAHAH!

That is all.

1. Our team won the Swinburne World School’s Debate Championship
   

   Beat the St Jo (Joel's) team heheh. (Joel - the guy making the donkey-like face in the picture below, fyi) Photo credits to Samantha Si.

2. I’ve been one of seven students selected by the school to represent them at the People to People summit of 2010

“Select students with outstanding scholastic merit and potential for leadership skills” or something like that. It’s kind of a student ambassador thing. OUTSTANDING SCHOLASTIC MERIT, ME??

1. I’ve been selected as one of the 20 finalists (out of a thousand entries WHOA) of the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for Young Malaysians 2009 essay writing competition.

My name appeared in an article in The Star
(Which makes it the second time I’ve made it into the paper this month . Small achievement, yaya whatever, I have no life, so give me a moment here)

I forgot to write my essay and the closing date for the competition ended. Then they decided to give an extension of a week. My mum forced me to write an essay but I procrastinated. On the FINAL DAY, she made me sit down and write something, which I did. Finished it in an hour. We submitted it at 3pm, and the office closed at 4pm. It was such a half-assed rushed essay… And somehow I got shortlisted?

I don’t think I stand a chance for the prize grand prize though (A TRIP TO DUBLIN). It really wasn’t one of my best. The topic was THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE and I had no idea what to write. Going to Kuala Lumpur next Friday to attend the awards ceremony, shop, and maybe MEET UP WITH KIYOSH!

For the few of you who like to read the crap I write (like Colette haha LOVE YOU, BIGGEST FAN!), I’m posting the article up, to read it click on the little “more” link down there to expand the post. This way, my blog doesn’t look word-spammed I LOVE WORDPRESS. I’d appreciate honest, constructive feedback and, more importantly, whether you think it stands a chance of winning. K THANKS

I’m done bragging LOL.

I was trying for a Neil Gaiman kind of feel, and I don’t think I’ve quite got it in me for his style (at least, not in this essay =/ ). I honestly don’t understand how it got accepted, it really wasn’t up to standard.
I had just finished reading Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland and decided to go crazy fictitious with the topic. Set it in Through The Looking Glass. I thought quoting Lewis Carroll would be a nice touch but I didn’t write it quite the way I wanted it.

Hope you like it more than I do. Because, personally, I don’t like it. At all.

The Best Things In Life

By Rebekah Ritchie.

Deep inside the tulgey wood, a little past the Tumtum tree, was a clearing by the sea. Odd as it might have seemed, here the sun shone with all its might, despite it being the middle of the night. In this clearing, stood a house with dimensions unfixed so that there’d be room for all. In this house, hung mirrors to other worlds and gardens of flowers that talked, provided there was someone worth talking to.

It was at this house where a grand party was to take place. The first few to arrive were rather shabbily dressed. Some were seasoned, some were new, though most of them had a timid, small air about them. Amongst them was Chocolate, who wore the same stretched dress she had worn for the past four galas, talking animatedly to Reading about shoes, ships, ceiling-wax, cabbages and kings. McDonald’s, who was here for the first time, babbled on about how honoured he was. Travel arrived in an excellent mood, looking slightly disconcerted, while Sleep came looking, as expected, weary.

As the day wore on, more and more guests arrived. Knowledge arrived looking older than he last had, but ever as grand. Wine lurked near the pond, not mingling with the other guests, wearing a fine velvet suit. Laughter wore an ostentatious gown of bright blue. Dreams walked about the garden dazedly while Friendship entertained a small crowd with jokes. They all talked, ate, drank and waited.

At last, a fine carriage drew up at the house. The guests stood up and fell silent in reverence. Out from its gilded doors came the royal family; Power, followed by his wife, Beauty, and their daughter, Youth. The crowns upon their heads sparkled in the light. They took their seats upon their thrones. Their guests settled back into their chairs once more. The king then bellowed in his deep voice, “Let the game begin.”

Music was the first to stand and deliver her speech.

“I have long been loved by every man, woman and child. There is not one amongst them who can claim not to know me. I make them happy and comfort them when they’re sad. I remind them of their good times and see them through the bad. I let them express themselves in ways no-one else can and I open their eyes to the world in ways more subtle than Speech or Word.”

She smiled a smile full of charm and confidence and resumed her place. The other guests clapped politely and there were whispers amongst them that she was a tough contender to beat. The king and queen were indifferent, while the ever-fickle Youth rolled her eyes and scoffed.

“I am Adventure,” said a gruff voice, and a man in a cloak stepped out from behind the gazebo. “I quench boredom and the thirst for more. I give them experience like no other. Without me, they would sit at home and rot away. I may be rough, but through me, they learn. I am who they all seek once the rest have cleared.”

His smile was dangerous and dashing. This time the applause was slightly hesitant. The king narrowed his eyes and leaned forward.

“You have killed men, have you not?” spoke the king, and the guests fell silent.

“Indeed I have, Sire, but I sent them to their graves with fulfillment,” came his quick reply.

The king seemed satisfied with his answer and the speeches continued.

Hour after hour passed. Freedom delivered a tear-jerking speech, while Wisdom gave one that was too familiar for the crowd’s liking. Television spoke for less than a minute while Youth would not stop for about an hour. Sometimes the king or queen would speak up to ask them questions or to ask them to stop. Christmas, Food, Religion and Family, Dance, Wealth, Cars and Clothes, each guest took his turn to speak.

Then, half obscured by the table’s centerpiece, Childhood stood up, balancing on her chair.

“My name is Childhood, and some of you may have forgotten me. I am not much on my own, but I bring with me Fun and Innocence. Anyone who says he does not know me is a liar. People think back on me in fondness, remembering a time of simplicity. I shape each and every person. They want me to be good to their their children and to their children’s children. I bring to each and every one of them curiousity and interest. With me, boredom can never be found. I work hard but I cannot stay, and I hear their prayers at night for me to come back. I am the best thing in life.”

She smiled a smile of colours and nursery rhymes, of a mother’s perfume which a child never forgets, of sunshine and imagination. She sat down and was once again shadowed by the centerpiece.

For the first time that day, the king gave a smile. He put his hands together, slowly, each clap resonating loud and clear, echoed by the enthusiastic claps of the others. They had a winner for this year, now they could leave. They said their goodbyes and got onto their horses, scooters and such. Next year, they would meet on the Dawn Treader and choose another.

Their shoeprints soon vanished, as if they were never there, and so did their tents, tables and chairs. It was a frabjous day; all mimsy were the borogroves and the mome raths outgrabe.